Healthy Applesauce Banana Bread (gluten-free + vegan)

A partially sliced loaf of banana bread on a wooden board lined with parchment paper.

5 from 3 votes

Healthy Applesauce Banana Bread (gluten-free + vegan)

Moist, tender, and delicious, this healthy applesauce banana bread is a great way to use up overripe bananas! A simple one-bowl recipe that only calls for 10 ingredients and is ready in an hour.

Prep Time10

Cook Time40

Total Time50

Course: Breakfast, brunch, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Halal, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: slices

Calories: 177kcal

Author: Meesha

Equipment

Ingredients

2 large ripe bananas about 300g/10.5oz
½ cup unsweetened applesauce homemade or store-bought
¼ cup cashew butter or other nut/seed butters
2 tablespoon plant based milk
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups oat flour 180g (or all purpose/whole wheat flour) see notes*
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line a 8.5x4.5 loaf pan with parchment paper, as shown in the process shots above.
Add bananas into a large mixing bowl. Using a potato masher or a fork, mash until bananas are relatively smooth.
2 large ripe bananas
Next, add in the rest of the wet ingredients into the bowl. Stir to mix.
½ cup unsweetened applesauce, ¼ cup cashew butter, 2 tablespoon plant based milk, 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Now, add your dry ingredients in and mix until everything is well incorporated.
2 cups oat flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda
Pour your batter into the lined loaf pan, and optionally, top with banana halves.
Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted down the middle.
Let it sit in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a cooling rack. Let your bread cool down completely before slicing and serving.

Notes

*Oat flour - Can be replaced with 1.5 cups of all-purpose, spelt, or whole wheat flour. Or, you can make oat flour at home by blending some rolled or quick oats in a blender until finely ground.

Helpful tips

Be careful not to overbake - Overcooking your banana bread can cause it to become dry and crumbly. To check if it's done, insert a toothpick down the middle. If it comes out clean, your banana bread is ready.
Cool banana bread before slicing - Let banana bread cool down completely before slicing. Cutting into warm bread might cause it to fall apart.
Add-ins - Feel free to add whatever add-ins that sounds good, such as chocolate chips, nuts, and blueberries. Check out the section in the post above, "Variations and add-ins" , for more detailed information.

Storing - Applesauce banana bread can be refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for 3 months. You can either freeze the whole loaf or slices of it.

Allow banana bread loaf to defrost at room temperature for 4-5 hours before reheating. Slices of banana bread can be reheated straight from frozen.

Reheating - Reheat banana bread in an oven preheated to 300F/150C until hot or in the microwave.

Nutrition